1. 15-1 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutrition, Health, and Safety for Young Children: Promoting Wellness, 1e Sorte, Daeschel, Amador Chapter Fifteen Creating Safe Environments for Young Children

2. 15-2 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutrition, Health, and Safety for Young Children: Promoting Wellness, 1e Sorte, Daeschel, Amador Meeting the Need for Safe Spaces Children’s settings are driven by family needs for child care and to advance children’s education. Community goals influence children’s settings.

3. 15-3 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutrition, Health, and Safety for Young Children: Promoting Wellness, 1e Sorte, Daeschel, Amador Challenges Creating Safe Spaces Early childhood operations do not have the finances to adequately design spaces for young children. Teachers and early childhood professionals have little training or guidance about classroom design and facility development. No single agency governs early childhood services nationwide.

4. 15-4 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutrition, Health, and Safety for Young Children: Promoting Wellness, 1e Sorte, Daeschel, Amador Spaces that Value Children Provide space for child-oriented play. Create a sense of welcome for children and families with spaces for personal items (i.e. coats and extra clothing) or meeting areas. Honor the work of young children by providing spaces to display their work and materials. Recognize the importance of transition with appropriate spaces.

5. 15-5 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutrition, Health, and Safety for Young Children: Promoting Wellness, 1e Sorte, Daeschel, Amador Appropriate Environments Locate children’s spaces in settings accessible to families. Support physical safety and emotional security. Be welcoming and child and family friendly. Address children’s age, developmental, and educational needs. Be culturally appropriate and developmentally accessible. Invite exploration and discovery. Support teaching and learning.

6. 15-6 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutrition, Health, and Safety for Young Children: Promoting Wellness, 1e Sorte, Daeschel, Amador Variety in Children’s Environments Short term child-care Drop-in services Full-day care and education – Family child care – Child care centers – Elementary schools – Before-and after-school programs – Camps – Enrichment classes

7. 15-7 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutrition, Health, and Safety for Young Children: Promoting Wellness, 1e Sorte, Daeschel, Amador What if… You observe a child running in and out of parked cars in the parking lot while the parent is talking with another parent? How would you respond?

8. 15-8 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutrition, Health, and Safety for Young Children: Promoting Wellness, 1e Sorte, Daeschel, Amador Usable Floor Space Requirements Refers to the open and accessible space that is not covered by furnishings. Recommendation is to provide a minimum of 35 – 50 usable square footage of floor space per child.

9. 15-9 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutrition, Health, and Safety for Young Children: Promoting Wellness, 1e Sorte, Daeschel, Amador Ensuring Accessibility Spaces must meet the requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). All children must have access to buildings, classrooms, play areas, and toilets and sinks. Special consideration must be given to ensure the needs of children with special health or development needs.

10. 15-10 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutrition, Health, and Safety for Young Children: Promoting Wellness, 1e Sorte, Daeschel, Amador Examples of Building Codes and Facility Requirements Building materials and spaces must be sturdy, free of hazardous product, and follow specific codes. Water, sewer; electrical services; heating, cooling, and airflow systems; garbage services; and communication systems are reviewed during licensing site visits. Safe spaces must be established around the building (entrances, parking lots, emergency exits, bicycle parking areas, emergency vehicle parking zones, school zones).

11. 15-11 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutrition, Health, and Safety for Young Children: Promoting Wellness, 1e Sorte, Daeschel, Amador Managing Access for Safety Restricting entry to one doorway and providing a lobby with locked doors into the program service areas beyond which only approved individuals may enter. Requiring employees to wear identifying uniforms. Requiring all persons in the facility to wear employee or visitor identification tags. Installing an electronic keyless entry system with passkeys or passwords available only to approved individuals.

12. 15-12 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutrition, Health, and Safety for Young Children: Promoting Wellness, 1e Sorte, Daeschel, Amador Safe Indoor Environments Identify a doorway for arrival and emergency exits. Arrange pathways through the room. Provide space for small-and large-group activities. Group activity areas logically. Take advantage of natural window lighting. Locate furniture in safe spaces.

13. 15-13 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutrition, Health, and Safety for Young Children: Promoting Wellness, 1e Sorte, Daeschel, Amador Planning Classroom Spaces Plan for activity centers. Provide culturally relevant spaces. Select child-sized furniture. Provide safe shelving. Organize safe storage. Control for hazards. Provide appropriate indoor and outdoor spaces.

14. 15-14 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutrition, Health, and Safety for Young Children: Promoting Wellness, 1e Sorte, Daeschel, Amador Safe Outdoor Environments Provide sufficient and appropriate space (75 square feet per child recommended). Install appropriate fencing and barriers. Clear the environment of safety hazards. Select resilient surfacing materials. Provide safe equipment. Provide protective barriers like guardrails. Check for entrapment and pinch or crush points. Provide sun and shade. Offer a variety of textures and surfaces.

15. 15-15 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutrition, Health, and Safety for Young Children: Promoting Wellness, 1e Sorte, Daeschel, Amador Most Frequent Injuries Falls – from platforms, slides, swings Collision – with equipment or being struck by equipment Entrapment – in gaps that allow the child’s head or other body part to enter Entanglement—with protruding components, “S”-style hooks, and ropes or straps that children bring into the environment Pinching or crushing—of fingers and other body parts

16. 15-16 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutrition, Health, and Safety for Young Children: Promoting Wellness, 1e Sorte, Daeschel, Amador Choosing Appropriate Toys Toys should promote child-directed play and learning. Toys should support the curriculum. A sufficient quantity of toys is important for active involvement (duplicate items for toddlers). Toys should promote development and address special needs (ex.: chubby paint brush handles). Toys should reflect cultural diversity. Toys should promote active play. Toys should be safe.

17. 15-17 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutrition, Health, and Safety for Young Children: Promoting Wellness, 1e Sorte, Daeschel, Amador Choking Hazards Marbles and small balls Toys with small parts (for example, wheels on toy cars can be chewed off) Coins and buttons - often used for sorting and counting activities Balloons - often associated with celebrations or used as gross motor props; an uninflated balloon or pieces of popped balloons can cause choking. Small magnets - pose a choking hazard; can also attach to one another inside the body, causing internal damage.

18. 15-18 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Nutrition, Health, and Safety for Young Children: Promoting Wellness, 1e Sorte, Daeschel, Amador What if… A family brings you a gift of toys from another country to use in the classroom that pose hazards? How would you respond to the gesture while ensuring children’s safety?